Leite, Jorge
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Leite
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Jorge
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Jorge Leite
Biography
Jorge Leite obtained his PhD in 2011 from the University of Minho, where he also completed his Psychology Degree in 2005. From 2013 to 2016, he underwent postdoctoral training at the Neuromodulation Center, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Currently, he holds the positions of Vice-Rector for Research, Associate Professor, and Coordinator of the CINTESIS.UPT. Throughout his career, he has made significant contributions to the field, with over 70 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. According to Scopus data, over half of his publications are featured in the top 25% of journals, while 45% are among the top 25% most cited documents globally. He has also supervised numerous MSc dissertations and is currently overseeing four PhD theses. Furthermore, he actively participates in various research projects, taking on roles such as Principal Investigator, Researcher, and Supervisor. These projects have successfully secured over 6M euros in funding. His dedication to his work has been recognized with seven awards and/or honors. Furthermore, he has collaborated with 167 fellow researchers in various scientific endeavors.
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CINTESIS.UPT - Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde
Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde (CINTESIS.UPT), former I2P, is an R&D unit devoted to the study of cognition and behaviour in context. With an interdisciplinary focus, namely on Education, Translational and Applied Psychology
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Publication Open Access Polarity specific effects of cross-hemispheric tDCS coupled with approach-avoidance training on chocolate craving2019-01-24 - Carvalho, Sandra; Sampaio, Adriana; Mendes, Augusto José; Lema, Alberto; Vieira, Daniela; Leite, JorgePublication Open Access Executive impairments in obsessive compulsive disorder: A systematic review with emotional and non-emotional paradigms2020-02 - Tubío Fungueiriño, Maria; Fernandez Prieto, Montse; Carvalho, Sandra; Carracedo, Angel; Gonçalves, Óscar F.; Leite, JorgePrecedent: Impairments in executive functioning may be associated with compulsive symptoms in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control and working memory in OCD patients. using emotional and non-emotional paradigms. Method: we reviewed research published in PubMed, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Scopus, Scielo, and ProQuest Psychology databases, from January 2008 to April 2019. The review followed a two-stage process. In the first stage, we selected only studies using neutral stimuli paradigms, while in the second we selected executive-emotional paradigms. Results: The first stage of the review provided 16 final results, while the second stage, with emotional stimuli, provided 3 results. Conclusions: There is some initial evidence for the existence of executive impairments in OCD, as expressed in the performance and/or processing of working memory inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. There is also initial evidence that these latter two could be modulated by the presentation or mental representation of negative valence stimuli or images, as well as the presence of aversive contingencies.Publication Open Access Longitudinal Clinical Trial Recruitment and Retention Challenges in the Burn Population: Lessons Learned from a Trial Examining a Novel Intervention for Chronic Neuropathic Symptoms2019 - Ohrtman, Emily A.; Zaninotto, Ana Luiza; Carvalho, Sandra; Shie, Vivian L.; Ianni, Corinne Rose; Kazis, Lewis E.; Ross Zafonte, Ross Zafonte; Ryan, Colleen M.; Schneider, Jeffrey C.; Fregni, Felipe; Leite, JorgeLong-term trials are key to understanding chronic symptoms such as pain and itch. However, challenges such as high attrition rates and poor recruitment are common when conducting research. The aim of this work was to explore these issues within a long-term randomized control trial using transcranial direct current stimulation to treat pain and itch. This parallel double blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial was comprised of 15 transcranial direct current stimulation visits and 7 follow-up visits. Participants were over the age of 18, had a burn injury that occurred at least 3 weeks before enrollment, and reported having pain and/or itch that was moderate to severe in intensity. A total of 31 subjects were randomized into either an active or sham transcranial direct current stimulation groups. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of age, race, education, baseline depression, or anxiety. The median dropout time was at visit 19 (visit 16 [SE = 1.98] for the sham group and visit 19 [SE = 1.98] for the active group). Analysis showed no differences in the dropout rate between groups [χ2(1) = 0.003, P = .954]. The dropout rate was 46.7% for the sham group and 43.8% for the active group. Overall, 45.2% of the subjects dropped out of the trial. Long-term clinical trials are an essential part of evaluating interventions for symptoms such as chronic pain and itch. However, as seen in this trial, long-term studies in the burn population often face recruitment and adherence challenges.Publication Open Access Reviewing working memory training gains in healthy older adults: A meta-analytic review of transfer for cognitive outcomes2019-08 - Teixeira-Santos, Ana C.; Moreira, Célia S.; Magalhães, Rosana; Magalhães, Carina; Pereira, Diana R.; Carvalho, Sandra; Sampaio, Adriana; Leite, JorgeThe objective of this meta-analytic review was to systematically assess the effects of working memory training on healthy older adults. We identified 552 entries, of which 27 experiments met our inclusion criteria. The final database included 1130 participants. Near- and far-transfer effects were analysed with measures of short-term memory, working memory, and reasoning. Small significant and long-lasting transfer gains were observed in working memory tasks. Effects on reasoning was very small and only marginally significant. The effects of working memory training on both near and far transfer in older adults were moderated by the type of training tasks; the adopted outcome measures; the training duration; and the total number of training hours. In this review, we provide an updated review of the literature in the field by carrying out a robust multi-level meta-analysis focused exclusively on working memory training in healthy older adults. Recommendations for future research are suggested.Publication Restricted Access Evidence-based guidelines and secondary meta-analysis for the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in neurological and psychiatric disorders2021-04 - Fregni, Felipe; El-Hagrassy, Mirret M.; Pacheco-Barrios, Kevin; Carvalho, Sandra; Simis, Marcel; Brunelin, Jerome; Nakamura-Palacios, Ester Miyuki; Marangolo, Paola; Venkatasubramanian, Ganesan; San-Juan, Daniel; Caumo, Wolnei; Bikson, Marom; Brunoni, André R.; Leite, JorgeTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has shown promising clinical results, leading to increased demand for an evidence-based review on its clinical effects. Objective We convened a team of tDCS experts to conduct a systematic review of clinical trials with more than one session of stimulation testing: Pain, Parkinson’s Disease Motor Function and Cognition, Stroke Motor Function and Language, Epilepsy, Major Depressive Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Tourette Syndrome, Schizophrenia and Drug Addiction. Methods Experts were asked to conduct this systematic review according to the search methodology from PRISMA guidelines. Recommendations on efficacy were categorized into: Levels A (definitely effective), B (probably effective), C (possibly effective) or no recommendation. We assessed risk of bias for all included studies to confirm whether results were driven by potentially biased studies. Results Although most of the clinical trials have been designed as proof-of-concept trials, some of the indications analyzed in this review can be considered as definitely effective (Level A) such as depression, probably effective (Level B) such as neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, migraine, post-operative patient-controlled analgesia and pain, Parkinson´s disease (motor and cognition), stroke (motor), epilepsy, schizophrenia and alcohol addiction. Assessment of bias showed that most of the studies had low risk of biases and sensitivity analysis for bias did not change these results. Effect sizes vary from 0.01 to 0.70 and were significant in about 8 conditions, with largest effect size being in postoperative acute pain, and smaller in stroke motor recovery (nonsignificant when combined with robotic therapy). Conclusion All recommendations listed here are based on current published Pubmed-indexed data. Despite high level of evidence in some conditions, it needs to be underscored that effect sizes and duration of effects are often limited; thus, real clinical impact needs to be further determined with different study designs.Publication Open Access Probing the relationship between late endogenous ERP components with fluid intelligence in healthy older adults2020-07-07 - Teixeira-Santos, Ana C.; Pinal, Diego; Pereira, Diana R.; Carvalho, Sandra; Sampaio, Adriana; Leite, JorgeThe world population is rapidly aging, bringing together the necessity to better understand the advancing age. This characterization may be used to aid early diagnosis and to guide individually-tailored interventions. While some event-related potential (ERP) components, such as the P300 and late positive complex (LPC), have been associated with fluid intelligence (Gf) in young population; little is known whether these associations hold for older people. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to assess whether these ERP components are associated with Gf in the elderly. Fifty-seven older adults performed a continuous performance task (CPT) and a visual oddball paradigm while EEG was recorded. Participants were divided into two groups, according to their performance in the Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices test: high-performance (HP) and low-performance (LP). Results showed that the HP group, compared to the LP group, had higher LPC amplitudes in the CPT and shorter P300 latencies in the oddball task, highlighting the role of ERP components as a potential electrophysiological proxy of Gf abilities in the elderly.Publication Open Access The effects of direct current stimulation and random noise stimulation on attention networks2021-03-18 - Lema, Alberto; Carvalho, Sandra; Fregni, Felipe; Gonçalves, Óscar F.; Leite, JorgeAttention is a complex cognitive process that selects specific stimuli for further processing. Previous research suggested the existence of three attentional networks: alerting, orienting and executive. However, one important topic is how to enhance the efficiency of attentional networks. In this context, understanding how this system behaves under two different modulatory conditions, namely transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial Random Noise Stimulation (tRNS), will provide important insights towards the understanding of the attention network system. Twenty-seven healthy students took part on a randomized single-blinded crossover study, testing the effects that involved three modalities of unilateral stimulation (tRNS, anodal tDCS, and sham) over the DLPFC, during the performance of the attention network test (ANT) in three different conditions: standard, speed and accuracy. Results showed that tRNS was able to increase attention during more complex situations, namely by increasing alerting and decreasing conflict effect in the executive network. Under the Speed condition, tRNS increased efficiency of the alerting network, as well as under the more demanding conflict network, tRNS overall increased the performance when comparing to sham. No statistical significant effects of tDCS were observed. These results are compatible with the attention requiring the synchronization of pre-existing networks, rather the reinforcement or creation of new pathways.Publication Open Access Cognitive effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with working memory training in fibromyalgia: A randomized clinical trial2018-08-20 - Santos, Vinicius Souza dos Souza dos; Zortea, Maxciel; Alves, Rael Lopes; Naziazeno, Cátia Cilene dos Santos; Saldanha, Júlia Schirmer; Carvalho, Sandra da Conceição Ribeiro; Torres, Iraci Lucena da Silva; Souza, Andressa; Calvetti, Prisla Ücker; Fregni, Felipe; Caumo, Wolnei; Leite, JorgeCognitive dysfunction in fibromyalgia has been reported, especially memory. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been effective in enhancing this function. We tested the effects of eight sessions of tDCS and cognitive training on immediate and delayed memory, verbal fluency and working memory and its association with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. Forty females with fibromyalgia were randomized to receive eight sessions of active or sham tDCS. Anodal stimulation (2 mA) was applied over the DLPFC and online combined with a working memory training (WMT) for 20 minutes. Pre and post-treatment neurocognitive tests were administered. Data analysis on deltas considering years of education and BDNF as covariates, indicated active-tDCS + WMT significantly increased immediate memory indexed by Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test score when compared to sham. This effect was dependent on basal BDNF levels. In addition, the model showed active stimulation increased orthographic and semantic verbal fluency scores (Controlled Oral Word Association Test) and short-term memory (Forward Digit Span). The combination of both techniques seemed to produce effects on specific cognitive functions related to short-term and long-term episodic memory and executive functions, which has clinical relevance for top-down treatment approaches in FM.Publication Restricted Access Transcranial direct current stimulation as an add-on treatment to cognitive-behavior therapy in first episode drug-naïve major depression patients: The ESAP Study Protocol2020-11-03 - Carvalho, Sandra; Gonçalves, Óscar F.; Brunoni, André R.; Fernandes-Gonçalves, Ana; Fregni, Felipe; Leite, JorgeMajor Depressive Disorder (MDD) affects more than 264 million people worldwide. Current treatments include the use of psychotherapy and/or drugs, however ∼30% of patients either do not respond to these treatments, or do not tolerate the side effects associated to the use of pharmacological interventions. Thus, it is important to study non-pharmacological interventions targeting mechanisms not directly involved with the regulation of neurotransmitters. Several studies demonstrated that transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) can be effective for symptoms relief in MDD. However, tDCS seems to have a better effect when used as an add-on treatment to other interventions.Publication Restricted Access Mind wandering: Tracking perceptual decoupling, mental improvisation, and mental navigation2020-10-15 - Gonçalves, Óscar F.; Silva, Mariana Rachel Dias da; Carvalho, Sandra; Coelho, Patrícia; Lema, Alberto; Mendes, Augusto J.; Branco, Diogo; Collus, Jorge; Boggio, Paulo S.; Leite, JorgeBackground: Mind wandering is a prevalent phenomenon. However, the concept of mind wandering is associated with distinct and often orthogonal concepts, and research- ers are still debating the best strategies to gain access to mind-wandering processes. Nonetheless, there is a progressive acknowledgment that mind wandering is a multi- dimensional and heterogeneous construct. We argue that to fully understand mind wandering, we need to look at dimensions assessing the process (i.e., perceptual decoupling), dynamics (i.e., mental improvisation), and content (i.e., mental naviga- tion). Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a self-report measure of mind wandering—the Mind Wandering Inventory (MWI)—to capture the heterogene- ity of mind wandering in terms of process, dynamic, and content components. Method: Five language versions of the MWI were administered to an international sample of 1,162 individuals. Results: Results showed that the MWI had good levels of internal consistency. In terms of internal structure, we found a first factor to index perceptual decoupling, a second to index mental improvisation, and a third to index mental navigation. Additionally, a study of concurrent validity with Spontaneous and Delib- erate Mind Wandering scales suggested that MWI has significant correlations with previous mind-wandering scales and that factors 1 (perceptual decoupling) and 2 (mental improvisation) seemed to be more closely associated with spontaneous than deliberate mind wandering. Finally, individuals coming from sciences major back- ground reported increased levels of mind wandering when compared with participants from both health, social and human sciences background.